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Mike Johnson fires back at Hakeem Jeffries’ ‘desperate’ call for televised shutdown debate

Mike Johnson fires back at Hakeem Jeffries’ ‘desperate’ call for televised shutdown debate

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed the top House Democrat’s demand for a primetime debate on the government shutdown. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote to Johnson on Monday morning challenging him to a debate on the House floor “any day this week,” to be broadcast live “to the American people.” Johnson suggested he would not entertain that, however, calling the move a “publicity stunt” to reporters that same morning. DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO BUDGE OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON “When the poll says that about 13% of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for attention, and that’s what Hakeem Jeffries has done,” Johnson said. “We debated all this on the House floor. As you know, before we passed our bill, he spoke for seven or eight minutes. He had all of his colleagues lined up. They gave it their best shot, and they argued, and they stomped their feet and screamed at us and all that. And still we passed the bill in bipartisan fashion and sent it over to the Senate.” The House speaker was referring to a short-term federal funding bill aimed at keeping the government running through Nov. 21, in order to give congressional negotiators more time to pass fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending priorities. That bill passed the House largely along party lines — with two Republicans opposed and one Democrat in support — but has stalled in the Senate. “The House has done its job. I’m not going to let Hakeem try to pretend for theatrics. I mean, this is a [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.] decision. The ball is in the Senate’s court now,” Johnson said. “We don’t need to waste time on that nonsense. Those debates have been had. I mean, Hakeem is a friend and a colleague. I respect him, but we all know what he’s trying to do there.” The government is in its sixth day of the current shutdown, with Senate Democrats having rejected the GOP-led funding plan four times. FIRST BIPARTISAN SHUTDOWN NEGOTIATIONS SURFACE ON CAPITOL HILL AFTER FUNDING BILL BLOCKED AGAIN Democrats in the House and Senate, infuriated by being sidelined in federal funding talks, have been pushing for an extension of Obamacare subsidies enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhancements would expire by the end of 2025 without congressional action. “Democrats have been clear and consistent in our position. The country needs immediate, bipartisan negotiations between the White House and congressional leadership in order to reach an enlightened spending agreement that reopens the government, improves the lives of hardworking American taxpayers and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis,” Jeffries wrote to Johnson on Monday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Unfortunately, Donald Trump and your party decided to shut down the government, because the GOP refuses to provide healthcare to everyday Americans. Further, you have kept House Republicans on vacation instead of working with Democrats to reopen the government.”

Schumer’s shutdown scheme explained: Dems double down on Obamacare credits as standoff drags on

Schumer’s shutdown scheme explained: Dems double down on Obamacare credits as standoff drags on

The government shutdown entered its sixth day on Monday, and Senate Democrats are so firmly planted in their position that unless there is a deal on expiring ObamaCare tax credits, they will not reopen the government.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus have largely remained unflinching in their demand that Republicans and President Donald Trump agree to a deal on the tax credits, which are set to expire by the end of the year. It’s one of several demands they made in their counter-proposal to the GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), and appears to be the one that they believe to be the most attainable. Their other demands, repealing the healthcare section of the “big, beautiful bill” and putting guardrails on the rescissions, are a nonstarter for Republicans and the White House. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DRAGS INTO WEEKEND AS SENATE DEMOCRATS BLOCK GOP PLAN Still, no party that has introduced unrelated demands into a government shutdown fight has walked away with a victory. The last government shutdown in early 2019 saw Trump demand that Democrats provide funding for his border wall, and he walked away empty-handed. Throughout last week, Senate Democrats maintained a posture that they wanted Republicans to come to the negotiating table on the subsidies, which are set to sunset at the end of this year. Conversations among members are ongoing, which both Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have encouraged. “We want Democrats to talk with Republicans,” Schumer said. “And so it’s a good thing.” ERNST DEMANDS $2T IN FEDERAL CUTS, URGES TRUMP TEAM TO ‘MAKE DC SQUEAL’ AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT But, he countered that Republicans hadn’t offered “anything really new — just the same old stuff.” “And so, nothing new on [ObamaCare], nothing on rescissions,” he said. “And so, look, Democrats want to go back and negotiate again, but they got to negotiate with something, get something in return.” Democrats’ initial push was to make the subsidies — created during the COVID-19 pandemic to ease the cost of healthcare premiums available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — permanent. The subsidies were later enhanced through the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 when Democrats last had a trifecta in Washington. That change removed the income cap on the subsidies.  Republicans have said that they are interested in working out something on the tax credits, but that there should be reforms to the program. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SPARKS GOP PLAN TO PENALIZE LAWMAKERS WITH NEW SALARY TAX “The ObamaCare enhanced, or COVID subsidies, are inflationary, and rates have been going up because that program is fundamentally flawed in ways designed,” Thune said. “That doesn’t mean it can’t be reformed and fixed. It can, but we can’t get to that conversation until we get the government back open.” Lawmakers are set to again vote on Republicans’ CR, and it is again expected to fail for a fifth time Monday, given that no deal was struck over the weekend. Both sides agree that a deal won’t come from the top level, but will have to be borne from negotiations among rank-and-file members. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., has been directly involved in the member-level negotiations and said that Republicans did want to tackle the ObamaCare issue. But, Democrats have to agree to reopen the government first. “It would be nice if Sen. Schumer could say his shutdown is complete, but we suspect that it will take members of his conference to make that decision on his behalf,” Rounds said. 

Army veteran-turned-MAGA rising star jumps into fiery GOP Senate primary as polls tighten

Army veteran-turned-MAGA rising star jumps into fiery GOP Senate primary as polls tighten

Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas announced Monday that he’s running for the Senate, jumping into an already bitter battle between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and primary challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “The U.S. Senate race in Texas must be about more than a petty feud between two men who have spent months trading barbs,” Hunt said in a statement as he launched his campaign. “With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important — Texas.” Hunt’s entry into the race turns up the heat on an already combustible battle between Cornyn, who’s running in 2026 for a fifth six-year term representing red state Texas in the Senate, and Paxton, the MAGA firebrand who’s an ally of President Donald Trump. Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service and a rising MAGA star who is in his second term representing a safe Republican district in the Houston-area, emphasized in his statement, “My record speaks louder than words. I am the most consistently conservative legislator representing Texas in Congress.” IS CORNYN CLOSING THE GAP WITH PAXTON IN THE GOP’S MOST COMBUSTIBLE 2026 SENATE PRIMARY? Cornyn, who is backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, trailed Paxton by double digits at the beginning of the summer. TRUMP’S SHADOW LOOMS LARGE IN 2025 ELECTION SHOWDOWNS But Cornyn has narrowed the polling gap in recent weeks, thanks in part to a massive ad blitz by allies that spotlighted the numerous controversies that have battered Paxton over the past decade. Trump, whose endorsement would make a major impact in the Texas primary battle, has remained neutral to date. Hunt, pointing to his backing of Trump as the then-former president launched his 2024 White House comeback, touted that “I was the first person in the nation to endorse President Trump, and I have remained steadfast in my commitment to the people of Texas.” FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN 2026 MIDTERMS Hunt had been mulling a Senate run for months and sources confirmed to Fox News earlier this year that the congressman had made his case to Trump’s political team that he’s the only person who could win both a GOP primary and a general election. And an aligned super PAC spent big bucks this summer to increase Hunt’s name recognition across the state of Texas. Paxton adviser Nick Maddux, in a statement to Fox News, said that “Primaries are good for our party and our voters, and Paxton and Hunt both know that Texans deserve better than the failed, anti-Trump record of John Cornyn.” But Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak argued in a statement that “Rep. Wesley Hunt is a legend in his own mind. No one is happier this morning than the national Democrats who are watching Wesley continue his quixotic quest for relevancy, costing tens of millions of dollars that will endanger the Trump agenda from being passed.” Hunt’s entry into the GOP nomination race could prevent the winner of next March’s primary from winning a majority of the vote, which would trigger a runoff election two and a half months later. Democrats are hoping for a Paxton victory in the primary, which they believe would make next year’s general election more competitive. It’s been nearly four decades since a Democrat won a Senate election in Texas. You have to go back to the 1988 re-election victory by then-Sen. Lloyd Bentsen. Former Rep. Colin Allred, who lost last November’s Senate election in Texas to conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz by over 8 points, is running for the 2026 Democratic nomination, along with rising star Texas state Rep. James Talarico and former astronaut Terry Virts.